100 Stories1956—Dispatching Employees to the Olympics for 17 Games in a Row! The Strong Bond With Sports
Although the Tokyo 2020 Games were delayed for an entire year due to the spread of the coronavirus, they were still hosted without an audience amid this unprecedented situation. In this special game that took place in their own country, five judo and track and field athletes participated from Asahi Kasei.
As a result, Shohei Ono won a gold medal two games in a row in the men's judo 73-kg division and Takanori Nagase won a gold medal in the men's judo 81-kg division, redeeming his loss in the Rio Olympics. Moreover, Shohei Ono won a silver medal in the Mixed team competition. As for the field and track events, Masatora Kawano won the 6th prize in the men’s 50-kilometer walk and Kouki Ikeda won the silver medal in the men’s 20-kilometer walk. They achieved great results, walking away with four medals in total.
Asahi Kasei has produced many Olympic athletes until now dating back to the 1956 Melbourne Games. Ever since they dispatched two players in the track and field events in Melbourne, they have been sending out employees every Olympic Games.
In the volleyball games, Masayuki Minami won a bronze medal in the 1964 Tokyo Games, a silver medal in the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games, and finally, the long-awaited gold medal in the 1972 Munich Games.
In the field-and-track events—Asahi Kasei’s forte—the brothers Shigeru So and Takeshi So, participated in the men’s marathon in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and won a silver medal. Koichi Morishita also won a silver medal in the men’s marathon in the 1992 Barcelona Games. Hiromi Taniguchi won 8th place in the same game even though his shoes came off at the hydration station. He instantly went viral for his line, “I fell over.
In addition, in judo, Haruki Uemura (fifth president of Kodokan) was the gold medalist in the judo open-weight division in the 1976 Montreal Games. In addition, the three Nakamura brothers participated in the Atlanta Games; Yoshio participated in the 95-kg division, Yukinari in the 65-kg division, and Kenzo in the 71-kg division. Kenzo won a gold medal and Yukinari won a silver medal. Moreover, even though it was said to be the greatest misjudgment of the century, Shinichi Shinohara won a silver medal in the Sydney Games. In this way, many great players who fill Japan’s Olympics history are playing an active role.
Against this background where the sports culture took root, an Asahi Athletic Club was established in various locations in the mid-1940s.
Sports fans in the company gathered and were led by athletes of various sports, such as field and track events, judo, and volleyball. When judo and kendo players gathered, the huge 200-tatami dojo hall overflowed with energy. These were not just places for supporting sports, but they also played a big role in elevating the competitive spirit of each club and encouraging friendly competition.
Next is road relay, which Asahi Group holds a competition for. Each team aimed to win in the competition under the motto “All Asahi.” The competitions were very exiting with players putting their pride on the line every day. They truly embodied the spirit of the Olympics.
Since road relay is a game that requires teamwork, each region worked on enhancing their synergy through these competitions. Sports helped form the valuable asset, “Asahi is one,” in the company.
There are deep ties between Asahi Kasei and sports. These ties were key in encouraging the employees, who were key in development. This makes the Olympics an important event to the employees. Working near players who represent Japan makes it more than just a sports festival. For the employees, it is also a game where they cheer for their comrades.
When Tokyo was selected to host the Olympics, no one was expecting the events that took place. Compared to previous games, we cannot say that the Tokyo Olympics were a great success. However, in a way, the players who competed in earnest gave Japan courage during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the future Asahi Kasei would like to support the activities of the players who brought Asahi—and Japan—together, and deliver them its humble appreciation.
The History of Olympics Players and Medals
| 1956Melbourne | Kurao HIROSHIMA (field and track, men’s marathon, 33rd place) |
|---|---|
| 1960Rome | Kurao HIROSHIMA (field and track, men’s marathon, 31st place) Keiji OGUSHI (field and track, men’s 400-m hurdles, eliminated in the preliminary round) Keiji OGUSHI (field and track, men’s 4 × 400-m hurdles, 5th place in semi-finals) Noriaki YASUDA (field and track, men’s pole vault, 3rd place in the preliminary round) Noboru OKAMOTO (field and track, men’s hammer throw, 13th place) |
| 1964年Tokyo | Masayuki MINAMI (men’s volleyball, bronze medal) Sumio MIWA (field and track, men’s 50-kilometer walk, 27th place) Satsuo IWASHITA (field and track, men’s 5000-m, 6th place in the preliminary round) Keiji OGUSHI (field and track, men’s 400-m hurdles, 5th place in the preliminary round) Kiyoo YUI (field and track, men’s 400-meter hurdles, 7th place in the preliminary round) Akira TANAKA (field and track, men’s 110-meter hurdles, 6th place in the preliminary round) Noboru OKAMOTO (field and track, men’s hammer throw, eliminated in the preliminary round) |
| 1968年Mexico City | Masayuki MINAMI (men’s volleyball, silver medal) Kiyoo YUI (field and track, men’s 400-meter hurdles, 5th place in the preliminary round) |
| 1972年Munich | Masayuki MINAMI (men’s volleyball, gold medal) |
| 1976年Montreal | Haruki UEMURA (judo, men’s open-weight division, gold medal) Shigeru SO (field and track, men’s marathon, 20th place) |
| 1980年Moscow(Non-participation of Japan) | Shigeru SO (field and track, men’s marathon) Takeshi SO (field and track, men’s marathon) |
| 1984年Los Angeles | Takeshi SO (field and track, men’s marathon, 4th prize) Shigeru SO (field and track, men’s marathon, 17th place) |
| 1988年Seoul | Akinobu Osako (judo, men’s -86-kg division, bronze medal) Shuichi YONESHIGE (field and track, men’s 10000-meter, 17th place in finals) Shuichi YONESHIGE (field and track, men’s 5000-meter, 11th place in the preliminary round) Misako MIYAHARA (field and track, women’s marathon, 29th place) |
| 1992年Barcelona | 森下 広一Koichi MORISHITA（陸上 男子マラソン 銀メダル） 谷口浩美Hiromi TANIGUCHI（男子マラソン 8位入賞） 大崎栄Sakae OSAKI（男子10000m 予選14位） 南克幸Katsuyuki MINAMI（バレーボール 男子 6位入賞） |
| 1996年Atlanta | Kenzo NAKAMURA (judo, men’s 71-kg division, gold medal) Yukinari NAKAMURA (judo, men’s 65-kg division, silver medal) Yoshio Nakamura (judo, men’s 95-kg division, 7th prize) Hiromi TANIGUCHI (field and track, men’s marathon, 19th place) Masako CHIBA (field and track, women’s 10000-meter, 5th prize in finals) |
| 2000年Sydney | Shinichi SHINOHARA (judo, men’s +100-kg division, silver medal) Kenzo NAKAMURA (participation in the judo, men’s 73-kg division) Yukinari NAKAMURA (judo, men’s 66-kg division, 7th prize) Shinji KAWAHIMA (field and track, men’s marathon, 21st place) Nobuyuki SATO (field and track, men’s marathon, 41st place) |
| 2004年Athens | Ryuji Ohno (field and track, men’s 10000-meter, 19th place) Masato UCHISHIBA (judo, men’s 66-kg division, gold medal) Masahiro TAKAMATSU (participation in the judo, men’s 73-kg division) Masahiko TOMOUCHI (participation in the judo, men’s 81-kg division) |
| 2008年Beijing | Masato UCHISHIBA (judo, men’s 66-kg division, gold medal) Hiroshi IZUMI (participation in the judo, men’s 90-kg division) |
| 2012年London | Kenzo NAKAMURA (men’s judo coach) |
| 2016年Rio de Janeiro | Satoru SASAKI (field and track, men’s marathon, 16th place) Kouta MURAYAMA (field and track, men’s 5000-meter, 22nd place in the preliminary round) Kouta MURAYAMA (field and track, men’s 10000-meter, 30th place) Shohei ONO (judo, men’s 73kg division, gold medal) Takanori NAGASE (judo, men’s 81-kg division, bronze medal) Ryunosuke HAGA (judo, men’s 100-kg division, bronze medal) |
| 2021年Tokyo 2020 | Kouki IKEDA (field and track, men’s 20-kilometer walk, silver medal) Masatora KAWANO (field and track, men’s 50-kilometer walk, 6th prize) Akira AIZAWA (field and track, men’s 10000-meter, 17th place) Shohei ONO (judo, men’s 73-kg division, gold medal) Takanori NAGASE (judo, men’s 81-kg division, gold medal) |